In this image taken during a trip organized by Libyan authorities, damage is seen inside a house supposedly hit by a rocket in Gharyan, 62 miles southwest of Tripoli. (AP Photo/Albert Facelly,Sipa Press)

(Newser)
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The Libyan regime has presented what appears to be the first credible case of a civilian killed by coalition air strikes. Reporters were escorted to a village in western Libya where a family mourned their 18-month-old son, who authorities say was killed when a rocket pierced the home following a NATO strike on a nearby ammunition dump. Moammar Gadhafi's regime has claimed other civilians have been killed by Western strikes, but has offered little solid evidence, AP notes.

Unlike in other places where Libyan authorities have taken reporters, the village where the boy died was free of green flags and of residents loudly demonstrating their support for Gadhafi, the Los Angeles Times notes. A reporter from the New York Times was approached by villagers—including some of the boy's relatives—who said they hated Gadhafi and didn't blame NATO for the death. "For 42 years, it has been dark," one man said. "Anyone who speaks, he kills. Everyone here wants Gadhafi to go.”

This is only the tip of the civilian casualties of the Western Crusade to Save Libyans from Themselves. "At least 40 civilians have been killed in air strikes by Western forces on Tripoli, the top Vatican official in the Libyan capital told a Catholic news agency on Thursday, quoting witnesses." http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/9113812/at-least-40-civilians-dead-in-tripoli-strikes-vatican-official/ But don't expect the West to take any responsibility for the murders they cause from 30,000 feet.

vwright1

Mar 31, 2011 8:50 AM CDT

Are we supposed to believe they care?

n230099

Mar 31, 2011 8:43 AM CDT

Hope it was a 'loyalist' baby and not one of the precious 'rebel' babies.